Those rural folks don't need the internet

Former FCC economist Michael Katz might want to rethink his recent comments about rural America when he buys his next loaf of bread. You see, Katz, thinks it's a waste of money to bring broadband internet access to rural areas. That is one of the initiatives outlined in the economic stimulus package President Obama will sign this week.

Katz made these comments in a story broadcast on National Public Radio's Morning Edition today. Here is an excerpt from the story.

"Katz listed ways that the $7.2 billion could be put to better use, including an effort to combat infant deaths. But he also spoke of rural places as environmentally hostile, energy inefficient and even weak in innovation, simply because rural people are spread out across the landscape.

"The notion that we should be helping people who live in rural areas avoid the costs that they impose on society … is misguided," Katz went on, "from an efficiency point of view and an equity one."

"Just the week before, a New York Times story on the rural broadband funding in the economic stimulus package used the phrase "cyber bridge to nowhere." That stung the rural issues advocates at the Center for Rural Strategies in Whitesburg, Ky.

"When they talk about 'cyber bridges to nowhere,' what they're really doing is betraying arrogance," complains Dee Davis, the center's director. "When people think of rural as 'nowhere,' [they're] saying the people who live in those places aren't worth working with, they're not worth helping."

If you follow Katz's logic, then it was a waste of money to bring electricity, telephones and paved roads to the rural areas of America. Arrogance is one excuse but I think this mentality goes even deeper. It is likely that Katz is one of those folks who just don't believe anything good can come from anywhere other than two or three metropolitan areas of this country.

As a fourth generation Kansan, I see firsthand everyday the talent, creativity and work ethic that comes from people who grew up in rural areas. I am only one generation removed from growing up on a farm so I don't have direct experience, but I sure am glad that is part of my heritage.

So Mr. Katz, we invite you to come out to see how the rest of us live. You might be surprised at what you find and realize that a little investment in rural America does pay off.

(Link to NPR Morning Edition story)  

Comments

[Sarah Hemme]

As someone who grew up on a farm in Kansas, I find Katz's words deeply disturbing for many of the reasons you've already addressed. From my point of view, broadband internet would give those who live in rural communities something that's important to all of us, no matter where we live: access to information. My impression is that Katz doesn't believe that those who live in rural areas deserve the same access to global on-demand information that he enjoys every day. What if someone had said the same thing about Andrew Carnegie's plan to establish public libraries? "Oh Mr. Carnegie, you don't want to blow your millions on building libraries in rural Kansas! We doubt that people in Kansas even know how to read..." It would have been absurd. High speed internet today is much like the Carnegie library of the early 1900s. The internet gives people the opportunity to read, learn and educate themselves using materials that may not be available locally. If you can't visit the MOMA in NY in person, visit it online. If you're a farmer in western Kansas and you're interested in organic farming methods but don't have expertise available locally, there's plenty of experts and reading materials online. A middle school student in Goodland who wants to learn how the Chinese river dolphin became extinct can find it online. There are learning circles, support groups, virtual visits of the world's wonders, communities of common interest, and much more that those in rural areas could benefit from with high speed access. Sure, we may be spread out across the landscape, but the internet can bring us together to fuel teamwork, collaboration and innovation! As Carnegie's motto stated, "Let there be light," but today let it be the light of a computer screen on the hopeful face of a rural American.

Sarah Hemme
University of Kansas Journalism student

[Mike Swenson]

Thanks for the thoughtful comment Sarah. The Carnegie Library is another great example. I think Katz is just jealous of our wide open spaces.

[Michael Jay]

I recommend that Katz consider boycotting all rural products, and all things made with rural products. before making any new purchase, he should ask himself if this would violate his boycott.

Note: Not turning off a utility counts as a continued purchase. Unless the fuel/power used for public transit was produced in the city, that counts as violating the boycott.